Housing transactions in Taiwan's 6 major cities rebound in May

2018/06/02 18:27:59

Taipei, June 2 (CNA) Transactions of residential and commercial property in Taiwan staged a rebound of more than 36 percent in May from the previous month, with sales in Taipei, the most closely watched market, soaring more than 46 percent from a month earlier, according to data released by the six major municipality governments.

Market analysts said the increase in housing transactions in May largely reflected a low comparison basis in April, while the completion of homes previously listed as pre-sale increased in May, helping the local property market climb out of the doldrums in April.

In May, transactions of homes, offices and shops in the six major cities -- Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung -- hit 20,409 units, up 36.6 percent from a month earlier and also up 16 percent year on year.

The rebound was particularly pronounced as the figure is compared with the data in April, when housing sales fell 19.8 percent from a month earlier and also 1.6 percent from a year earlier.

The May figure was also the highest for 29 months, the data showed.

Yu Ching-fang (于靜芳), a research manager at Eastern Realty Co., said the leap in transactions in May also reflected the fact that many home buyers postponed their purchases to the month.

In Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan, sales of residential and commercial property for May hit 2,631 units, up 46.9 percent from a month earlier, the highest growth among the six cities.

Chang Ching-yun (張瀞勻), head of research at National Realty, said the spike in housing transactions in Taipei resulted from strong sales in Songshan, Zhongzheng, Xinyi and Da'an districts where sales were up about 50 percent from a month earlier.

In New Taipei, the most populous city in Taiwan, transactions of homes, offices and shops totaled 5,419 units in May, up 38.6 percent from a month earlier. It is the first time New Taipei has recorded more than 5,000 housing transactions in one month over the past year on the back of the completion of homes previously listed as pre-sale projects, analysts said.

Transactions in Banqiao, Tamsui and Xindian districts were the highest with 807, 745 and 470 units, respectively, the data showed.

Housing transactions in Taoyuan, northern Taiwan, and in Taichung, central Taiwan also registered a month-on-month increase of 40.3 percent and 32.3 percent, respectively, to total 3,371 units and 3,664 units in May, the data indicated.

In Tainan and Kaohsiung, the two largest cities in southern Taiwan, property transactions rose 39.6 percent and 25.3 percent, respectively, from a month earlier to 2,190 and 3,134 units in May, according to the data.

Despite the strong showing in the property market in May, transactions of second-hand homes remained in consolidation mode, analysts said, adding that home buyers seemed to be waiting for more affordable prices before jumping into the second hand home market.

In the first five months of this year, housing transactions totaled 84,631 units, up 8.1 percent from a year earlier, the data showed.